Christchurch City Council
Type
Type	City council ofChristchurch
History
Founded	1989
Leadership
Mayor	Phil Mauger, Independent since 25 October 2022
Deputy Mayor	Victoria Henstock since 2025
Chief Executive Officer	Mary Richardson since 3 October 2024
Structure
Seats	17[b]
Political groups	Independent (8)[a]  The People's Choice (4)   The People's Choice – Labour (2)  Independent Citizens (2)  Labour (1)
Elections
Voting system	First-past-the-post (FPP)
Last election	11 October 2025
Next election	October 2028
Motto
Fide condita, fructu beata, spe fortis
Meeting place
Christchurch Civic Offices, Worcester Street frontage
Website
www.ccc.govt.nz
Footnotes
^Includes people who ran as independents, those that ran with slogans on the ballot, and those that had no affiliation ^Mayor plus 16 city councillors

TheChristchurch City Council (CCC) is thelocal government authority forChristchurch in New Zealand. It is aterritorial authority elected to represent the 419,200 people of Christchurch.^[1] TheMayor of Christchurch isPhil Mauger, who was elected in 2022 and 2025l.^[2] The council currently consists of 16 elected Councillors in sixteen wards, and is presided over by the mayor, who is elected at large. The number of elected members and ward boundaries changed prior to the2016 election.

The original Christchurch City Council was formed in 1862 to serve as the local municipality for Christchurch city. The jurisdiction of the original council was quite small, covering what is today just the central core of the city. By the mid-1920s the city had grown by amalgamating with some of the surrounding boroughs to include Beckenham, St Martins, Linwood, Opawa and Papanui.^[3]

As a result of the1989 local government reforms, the original council was disestablished, and on 1 November 1989 the new Christchurch City Council took over the functions of the former Christchurch City Council as well as theHeathcote County Council, Riccarton Borough Council, Waimairi District Council, part of Paparua County Council, and the Christchurch Drainage Board. On 6 March 2006,Banks Peninsula District Council merged with Christchurch City Council.^[4]

Councillor Yani Johanson campaigned since 2010 to live-stream council meetings for more transparency. Whilst the technology had been installed well before the2013 local elections, it has only been used since the change toLianne Dalziel as mayor.^[5]

In mid-June 2024, the Christchurch City Council announced it would be withdrawing fromLocal Government New Zealand after the local government bodies association raised its annual membership costs by more than NZ$20,000. MayorPhil Mauger welcomed the withdrawal, saying that it would allow the Council to directly advocate for issues important to Christchurch andBanks Peninsula.^[6]

The council is elected every three years using thefirst-past-the-post voting system. The vote is conducted by postal ballot. The 2016 elections had a turnout of 38.3% down from 42.9% and 52.2% in 2013 and 2010 respectively.^[7]

Prior to the2004 local elections, there were 24 councillors in Christchurch. At that election, the number of councillors halved to 12.^[8] For electoral purposes, Christchurch was divided into six wards from 2004, and seven wards after the amalgamation with Banks Peninsula in 2006. The six metropolitan wards each elected two councillors, with the remaining councillor elected for the sparsely populated Banks Peninsula ward. The 2016 representation review by the Local Government Commission has resulted in 16 wards, with each ward electing one councillor, i.e. an increase in three councillors.^[9]

Political groupings represented on the council are the centre-rightIndependent Citizens^[10] and the centre-leftThe People's Choice (formerly Christchurch 2021).^[11]Party politics are less influential in elections to the council than is the case for theHouse of Representatives, with 10 councillors elected on tickets and 7 elected as independents in 2019, including the mayor.

Under most circumstances, the council is presided over by the mayor. At its first meeting after a local election, the council elects from among its members a Deputy Mayor, who acts as mayor in the absence and with the consent, or in the incapacity, of the mayor. The Deputy Mayor also presides at meetings if the mayor is not present. The Deputy Mayor is recommended by the mayor and is either confirmed or replaced in a vote of the first council meeting.

Councillors also serve on a number of committees. As of 2008^[update], there is one Standing Committee, eight Standing Subcommittees, seven Joint Standing Committees and Working Parties (so called because they involve members of other local authorities), and 14ad hoc subcommittees and working parties. The council can delegate certain powers to these committees, or alternatively they can consider matters in more detail and make recommendations to the full council.

The council has established sixcommunity boards.^[12][13] These community boards deal with matters delegated to them by the council, act as representatives and advocates for their communities, and interact with community organisations and interest groups. General tasks typically delegated to local community boards are the locations of council rubbish bins, traffic lights, stop signs and pedestrian crossings; Also rubbish collection, local disturbance review and relaying information to the main council from their Ward area through the Councillor who has a right to sit on the board within their ward.

Some community boards, like the council, have created committees for specific purposes.

As of the2022 local elections, the members of the community boards are:^[14]

The day-to-day administration of the City of Christchurch is carried out by a large team of Council staff. Indeed, in everyday usage, the termthe council is extended to include not just the Mayor and Councillors, but the entire local civil service. The professional head of the civil service is the chief executive, who is appointed by the council under contract for up to five years. The chief executive is assisted by a team of general managers, who each have an individualised portfolio.^[15]

In early July 2013, CEOTony Marryatt was put on indefinite leave on full pay over the council losing its accreditation withInternational Accreditation New Zealand (IANZ) to issue building consents, one of council's core functions.^[16] General manager Jane Parfitt was appointed acting CEO.^[17] Karleen Edwards was chief executive from June 2014 to June 2019. In July 2019, she was succeeded by Dawn Baxendale.^[18] Baxendale resigned in November 2023, and was replaced by Mary Richardson on an interim basis.^[19]

List of chief executives^[a]

The current elected members were chosen at the2025 New Zealand local elections. Since then, two by-elections have been held to fill vacancies on community boards — one in the Innes ward and another in the Lyttelton subdivision of Banks Peninsula. In addition, one vacancy was filled by appointment under section 117(3)(a) of theLocal Electoral Act 2001.^[25]

Christchurch City Council
Position	Ward	Photo	Name	Ticket
Mayor	At large		Phil Mauger		Let's Get Stuff Done
Deputy mayor	Papanui		Victoria Henstock		Your Local Independent Community Voice
Councillor	Banks Peninsula		Tyrone Fields		The People's Choice
Councillor	Burwood		Kelly Barber		Independent for Burwood
Councillor	Cashmere		Tim Scandrett		Independent
Councillor	Central		Jake McLellan		Labour
Councillor	Coastal		Celeste Donovan		Independent
Councillor	Fendalton		David Cartwright		Independent Citizens
Councillor	Halswell		Andrei Moore		Independent
Councillor	Harewood		Aaron Keown		Independent Candidate for Harewood
Councillor	Heathcote		Nathaniel Herz Jardine		The People's Choice
Councillor	Hornby		Mark Peters		Independent for Hornby
Councillor	Linwood		Yani Johanson		The People's Choice – Labour
Councillor	Innes		Pauline Cotter		The People's Choice
Councillor	Riccarton		Tyla Harrison-Hunt		The People's Choice
Councillor	Spreydon		Melanie Coker		The People's Choice – Labour
Councillor	Waimairi		Sam MacDonald		Independent Citizens

The 16 councillors are each individually elected from one of 16 electoral wards.^[35][13]

• Banks Peninsula ward – Covers the whole of Banks Peninsula, including the subdivisions of Akaroa, Lyttelton, Wairewa, and Mount Herbert.^[36]
• Burwood ward – Covers the suburbs of Aranui, Wainoni, Bexley, Burwood, Avondale, Dallington, Shirley East, Ōtākaro Avon River Corridor, Prestons, Waitikiri, Marshlands and Travis Wetlands.^[37]
• Cashmere ward – Covers the suburbs of Westmorland, Cracroft, Somerfield, Cashmere, Beckenham, Huntsbury, and St Martins.^[38]
• Central ward – Apart from the central city, it covers the suburbs of Richmond, Linwood Village, Avon Loop, Phillipstown and Charleston.^[39]
• Coastal ward – Covers the suburbs of the suburbs of Brooklands, Spencerville, Kāinga, Ouruhia, Queenspark, Parklands, Waimairi Beach, North New Brighton, New Brighton, South New Brighton, and Southshore.^[40]
• Fendalton ward – Covers the suburbs of Fendalton, Merivale, Strowan and Bryndwr as well as parts of Ilam, Burnside and St Albans.^[41]
• Halswell ward – Covers the suburbs of Halswell, Wigram, Aidanfield and Kennedys Bush.^[42]
• Harewood ward – Covers the suburbs of Bishopdale, Harewood, Northwood and Belfast and parts of Casebrook and Yaldhurst.^[43]
• Heathcote ward – Covers the suburbs of Sydenham, Waltham, Opawa, Murray Aynsley, Heathcote Valley, Ferrymead, Saint Andrews Hill, Mt Pleasant, Moncks Spur, Redcliffs, Sumner, Scarborough and Onepoto Taylors Mistake.^[44]
• Hornby ward – Covers the suburbs of Hornby, Hei Hei, Islington and Yaldhurst, as well as parts of Wigram and Sockburn.^[45]
• Innes ward – Covers the suburbs of Edgeware, Mairehau, Shirley, and St Albans.^[46]
• Linwood ward – Covers the suburbs of Linwood, Woolston, and Bromley.^[47]
• Papanui ward – Covers the suburbs of Papanui, Redwood, Northcote and Sawyers Arms.^[48]
• Riccarton ward – Covers the suburbs of Riccarton, Ilam, Sockburn and Upper Riccarton.^[49]
• Spreydon ward – Covers the suburbs of Addington, Hillmorton, Hoon Hay and Spreydon.^[50]
• Waimairi ward – Covers the suburbs of Russley, Avonhead and Burnside as well as parts of Ilam.^[51]

The council is vested with a power of "general competence" for the social, economic and cultural well-being of Christchurch. In particular, the Council has responsibility for a range of local services, including roads (exceptState Highways), water, sewerage, waste collection, parks and reserves, and libraries. Urban development is managed through the maintenance of acity plan and associatedzoning regulations, together withbuilding andresource consents. The council has been given extra powers to regulate certain types of business operations, notably suppliers ofalcohol andbrothels.

One of the core functions of the council is to check and approve buildingconsents. In July 2013, Christchurch City Council lost its accreditation for issuing building consents, in the middle of a rebuild period following the devastatingFebruary 2011 Christchurch earthquake.^[52] ACrown manager, Doug Martin, was installed to reform the council's building consent department.^[53] The Council successfully obtained reaccreditation in December 2014.^[54]

Christchurch has awheelie binkerbside collection system, which replaced their previous system. The previous system required the resident to put a black rubbish bag out every week to the kerbside, along with a green recycling crate. With the current system, residents are given three wheelie bins: One 240 litre bin (recycling), One 140 litre bin (rubbish), and one 80 litre bin (organics). Each week, residents can put two of the three bins out. The 80 litre organics bin goes out every week and the 240 litre recycling and the 140 litre rubbish alternate.

Whilst public transport is the responsibility of regional councils, the Christchurch City Council provided a free central city service.The Shuttle operated from December 1998 to February 2011 and came to an end with the February 22 earthquake.^[55]

Christchurch civic offices

Christchurch's civic offices through the years (clockwise from top left): Christchurch Land Office (1862–1887),Our City (1887–1924),The Civic (1924–1980), civic offices in Tuam (1980–2010) and Hereford (2010–present) streets

1862–1887

The Christchurch Municipal Council, as it was originally called, was using theChristchurch Land Office, the first public building erected in Christchurch in 1851.^[56]

1887–1924

On the same site, the council had the so far only purpose-built Municipal chambers constructed, designed bySamuel Hurst Seager in a Queen Anne style. Many years after the council moved out in 1920 the building became known asOur City and is registered as a Category I heritage building withHeritage New Zealand (NZHPT).^[56][57]

1924–1980

Council purchased the burned out shell of the former Canterbury Hall and built new Municipal offices in Manchester Street. Later it became known asThe Civic, after the name of the Restaurant and bar of the same name. The building was registered as a Category II heritage building with the NZHPT,^[56][58] and was demolished after the 2011 Christchurch earthquake.

1980–2010

Council bought the former Miller's Department Store and moved to 163 Tuam Street in 1980.^[56] This gave rise to the occasionalmetonymic use ofTuam Street to refer to the municipal government. The building was registered as a Category II heritage building with the NZHPT,^[56][59] and was demolished after the 2011 Christchurch earthquake.

2010 to present

In August 2010,^[56] the Council's new offices were officially opened in a refurbishment of the formerChristchurch Mail Sorting Centre, designed by the Ministry of Works in 1974. The redevelopment was supervised byWellington-based architectIan Athfield.

The council also maintains service centres in the suburbs ofFendalton,Hornby,Linwood,Papanui,Riccarton,Shirley, and in the towns ofLyttelton,Little River andAkaroa.

• Christchurch City Holdings, a wholly owned investment arm of the Christchurch City Council
• Coat of arms of the City of Christchurch, granted to the Christchurch City Council in 1949

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